More research today considering the slim pickins real estate wise… looking at blackwater treatment today… as in the stuff wot comes out of the toilet 🙂 There’s a couple of different options to consider and I actually found a pretty neat blog while I was looking into things and learned that there is a worm based sewerage system! And something called Biolytix which the blog lady doesn’t recommend for customer service reasons but I’ll have to check that out too so as not to be biased.

The blog is http://ourstrawbalehouse.blogspot.com.au which chronicles a family’s journey in building their straw bale house and I’ve already learned some lessons from their experiences. She also gave me another great idea in terms of the kitchen in that she got hers from my beloved eBay. I hadn’t thought of looking there for kitchens as I was planning on getting a flat pack kitchen to save costs but its not a bad idea if I can pick up a second hand one that suits my needs.

So back to poop – considering that the block that I want to purchase isn’t connected to the sewerage mains (and I’m talking about the property I’ve been calling Number 2 har har no pun intended) I’m going to need an onsite processing method. The property already has septic installed but the leech field for it is uphill from the big lake dam so I’m not overly keen on that idea. Also where I want to plant the orchard is within that area so I think I’m going to have to do a bit more research on septic to further my understanding on how it works and the impact it has on fruit trees and water sources etc before I feel 100% comfortable with that option. I realise it’s been in place with the previous owners so I’ll have to check out the current effects if any. So if it has no real negative impacts, other than the potential yearly tank pumping/cleaning, then it would be a good low cost option as it’s already in place. (maybe flushed with recycled grey water from yesterday’s post?)

Another option is a composting toilet aka “humanure”. I have a friend who has this system in place and its very low cost and low maintenance (and no smell) and yields excellent compost for the trees and shrubs. Another blog that I follow has detailed their humanure system so you can check it out here (http://milkwood.net/tag/humanure/ and you’ll have to scroll a bit for the detailed poo posts) or google it if you wanna know more about it. All I’d really need to invest in is a chipper to make sawdust/chips for the um… deposit coverings.

The actual loo itself isn’t very sleek and sexy (looks something like a box with a toilet seat on it which I can make myself – Image also from Milkwood.net ) so I’ll have to think of a way for sexying it up a bit so it’s not so ugly and rustic cuz that’s just not my style. Best part about it is that there’s no water involved so that’s another big plus.

And the new idea from today is the worm smart eco septic system from http://www.wormsmart.com.au/. I’ve never heard of this type of system so I might actually contact her to see how it’s going. And Biolytix which looks similar, basically a worm powered septic system. The fact that the original Australian side of the company went bust and was bought out by the NZ side is a bit worrying in regards to long term support but I’ll do some more reading to work out what the best poop recycling system is going to be the best for my property. The easiest seems to be the humanure option really. Its basically no cost as there is plenty of timber on the property to make sawdust and the results go back into fertilizing the plants (although they say not to put it on veggie patches which makes sense).

And I’m open to other suggestions if anyone has any that I haven’t covered above. Speaking of poop, I’d better get back to work 🙂